New Board, New Funds, New Direction for The San Diego Foundation

Initiative of “Understanding San Diego” Seeks Knowledge, Consensus and Action,$47 Million in Year’s Grant-making Recognized

SAN DIEGO – July 15, 2004 – At its 29th Annual Meeting last night, The San Diego Foundation introduced two new members of its Board of Governors, recognized a record $47 million distributed back into the community, announced another record of new funds created – and launched a major new initiative titled “Understanding San Diego.”

Colette Carson Royston, chair of The San Diego Foundation’s Board of Governors said, “Last year was an extraordinary time for San Diego and The San Diego Foundation. Our community rallied in the face of the October wildfires, generously helping our fire-stricken communities. The local economy grew, with gifts to The Foundation rising as well. This year, The Foundation gained over $45 million in contributions to new and existing funds and 95 new funds were opened. The Foundation’s assets now total $424 million, with more than $200 million in permanent endowments.”

“The power of philanthropy to make life better in all our communities has been well demonstrated,” said Carson Royston. ‘Understanding San Diego’ is the title of a continuing initiative of The Foundation based on the premise: We must understand. Then we can act. The Foundation strives to acquire and share clear understanding of the region’s largest issues, then engage the community in collaborative planning and execution that produces results.”

In its business meeting, The San Diego Foundation reported:

• New funds established this year totaled 95, bringing the total number of funds managed by The Foundation to 1051.
• Of the 95 new funds, 38 are new endowments funds that will benefit the San Diego region in perpetuity because only the proceeds of the fund is used for charitable purposes, leaving the principle to remain to continue to generate additional grants. The Foundation now manages some 540 endowment funds, which hold $200 Million (in principle funds).
• The Foundation manages an asset base of charitable giving of over $424 million. In its fiscal year of June 2003 to June 2004, The Foundation gave over $47 million back into the community in nearly 3,000 separate awards.
• Of this $47 million in grants, The Foundation’s two-year-old Community Partnerships program granted out nearly $ 1.8 million to nonprofit groups in six specific areas of concern to the community.
• The Foundation’s grant-making since its inception in 1975 amounts to $298 million granted back into the community.

“Last year we awarded nearly $1 million per week to nonprofits in San Diego,” said Carson Royston. “And this significant work was done while The Foundation also worked on its San Diego Regional Disaster Fund and its After-The-Fire Fund, for which The Foundation charged no fee.”

Last night, The Foundation released its “San Diego After-The-Fire Report” a summary of the work done by The Foundation to “restore, recover and rebuild” the San Diego region after the October 2003 wildfires.

The report describes the largest donations that came to funds under the philanthropic umbrella of The Foundation, including those of the After-The-Fire Fund; the San Diego Fire Relief Fund (established by the Alex Spanos Family and the San Diego Chargers); the Fire Victims Scholarship Fund, and others.

The report details where The Foundation provided grants and provides an overview of the ongoing needs of the fire affected regions in San Diego. All told, the San Diego Regional Disaster Fund collected $3.2 million for fire relief efforts, of which $3.2 million has been allocated or earmarked for distribution to the fire affected areas through the nonprofit organizations that serve individuals, families and communities

Bob Kelly, president and CEO of The San Diego Foundation, said “As the largest foundation in the region, The San Diego Foundation worked with individuals, businesses and other nonprofits in the community to offer aid to the fire-affected areas. The outpouring of donations of time, ideas, energy and resources from people throughout the San Diego region can serve as a model for community philanthropy – the fires showed how coordinated and committed charitable giving can be an effective tool to solve problems in our region. ‘Understanding San Diego’ seeks to understand our issues better and learn how to harness the powerful philanthropic nature of San Diegans to benefit all residents of San Diego through charitable giving.”

Carson Royston added, “Think how much more effective charitable giving can be if everyone has a clear picture of San Diego issues, is in agreement on the problem and the solution, and takes collective action via charitable giving, to make life better for everyone in San Diego.”

In a related move, The Foundation announced $1.8 million in new grants from its Community Partnerships department. In the Community Partnerships model, nonprofit program proposals are evaluated and funding recommendations made by The Foundation’s six Working Groups. These Working Groups are made up of San Diego volunteers who are community leaders and topic specialists who are aided by experts in the field at The Foundation. The Working Groups focus on specific areas of major interest to donors in San Diego. This year, the Community Partnerships’ Working Groups awarded grants to:
• 12 Arts & Culture organizations, total funding of $234,501;
• Nine Civil Society groups, together for a grant award of $163,000;
• Six Neighborhood Civic funds, for $16,700;
• Six “Blasker” grants to cutting edge environmental science programs for total funding of $123,000.
• Ten Environment efforts: for $182,000
• Six Environmental Health & Justice Grants for $165,300.
• Eight Environment Land & Watershed Grants programs with $290,000
• Six Health and Human Service projects received were awarded $202,923;
• Five OSP (organization success improvement) teams for $94,650.
• Six “Blasker” Science & Technology grants equaling $284,030
• Three Science & Technology Community grants for $82,126.

The Arts & Culture Working Group was formed last year and is the newest interest area The Foundation is targeting with charitable giving.

Finally, The San Diego Foundation welcomed the two newest members of its Board of Governors: Jane Fetter and Dan Sullivan. Fetter and Sullivan are joining The Foundation’s Board of Governors just in time to take on the “Understanding San Diego” as a philanthropic initiative.

• Jane Trevor Fetter is an active prominent member of the San Diego community. Her volunteerism encompasses service with La Patronas, Junior League San Diego, Gifted Association of the Board of Education, Bishops School Alumni Association and the Governor’s Commission on Aging, as well as chairing events for the San Diego Zoological Society, America’s Cup, Reuben H. Fleet Space Theatre, Birch Aquarium and Children’s Hospital Foundation. Fetter has served on The San Diego Foundation’s Scholarships Selection Committee.

• Daniel Sullivan, Ph.D., is also very active in the community, currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the San Diego State University Foundation, and UC San Diego’s School of Engineering Corporate Affiliate Board, and San Diego State University’s Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. He holds a doctorate in organization communication from the University of Nebraska.

Two Board Members, H. William Kuni and R. Michael McCraw are leaving the Board of Governors.
• Kuni is formerly a founder and CEO of Texas-based Marine Maintenance Industries; chairman and CEO of Donjoy, Inc., a leading manufacturer of orthopedic devices; President of Weatherford/AAI and Straus Systems, and a Principal in the southwestern management consulting firm of Lifson, Wilson, Ferguson & Winick. He is a Director of CircAid Medical Products. His recent civic Board of Directors memberships include the San Diego Natural History Museum, the AVID Center for Education and the San Diego Ecology Center. He is the Founding Chair of The San Diego Foundation’s Environment Program Working Group and has served on the Strategic Planning, Marketing and Distribution Committees.

• McCraw is president & CEO, California Southern Small Business Development Corporation. He is a former host of the television show Business to Business; former Director of Client Services for the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation; former Executive Director of the Michigan Minority Technology Council in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and member of the Board of Directors for the San Diego Neighborhood Funders.

Founded in 1975, The San Diego Foundation is San Diego’s largest nonprofit foundation and leading philanthropic organization. A broad-purpose community foundation, it is built by the people in the community through establishing funds and endowments at The Foundation. The mission of The Foundation is to improve the quality of life in San Diego by promoting and increasing responsible and effective charitable giving. The Foundation today manages over $424 million in over 1050 different funds, of which $200 million are in permanent endowments funds that will benefit the San Diego area in perpetuity. Visit The Foundation on www.sdfoundation.org or call 619-235-2300.

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